Indianapolis 500 voted 'Best Bucket List Sports Event'

10Best and USA TODAY readers voted for their favorite sporting events in the 10Best Readers' Choice awards for 'Best Bucket List Sports Event.' The votes are in, and the Indianapolis 500 took home top honors. Indianapolis Motor Speedway

For over 100 years, the "Indy 500" has been held every year on the Sunday before Memorial Day, except during times of war. The two-and-a-half mile oval circuit is relentless on the drivers’ equipment and skill, and with over 300,000 fans attending in a given year, the pressure is as intense as it gets. Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Whether in summer or winter, there's something magical about young athletes at the top of their sports, competing not only for their own glory, but for their countries. The runner-up Olympic Games bring together so many athletes of so many different sports that nearly any sports fan has an event to get excited about. Flickr/The U.S. Army

The hardest sports ticket in the world to obtain and our third place winner: the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga. The first week of April brings the world's best golfers to the dazzling azalea-covered hills of Augusta National Golf Club. At this oh-so-private club, only an elite few (including lucky ticket lottery winners) get to watch this coveted major championships in person. Congrats to Bubba Watson on his big 2014 win! Jamie Squire, Getty Images

Epic parties across the nation are staged each winter in honor of a single football game, the Super Bowl, your #4. The annual championship game of the NFL attracts so much hype that it's often the most-watched American television broadcast of the year. (And Super Bowl Sunday sees more American food consumption than any other day but Thanksgiving). But nothing compares to actually being there: that distinction affords attendees some serious bragging rights. Flickr/Anthony Quintano

Each May, Louisville comes alive as crowds descend on Churchill Downs to watch the "Greatest Two Minutes in Sports." Attending the prestigious fifth place Kentucky Derby means donning an elegant hat, sipping mint juleps and watching the most elite horses in thoroughbred racing compete for a garland of more than 500 red roses. Flickr/John Athayde

Occurring only every four years, sixth place finisher FIFA World Cup Finals have become one of the most eagerly anticipated sporting events on the planet, and arguably the most important tournament in soccer. Viewership often outranks even the Olympics, and this summer's installment in Brazil looks to be no different, as 31 nations (including the USA) will seek to dethrone Spain as the best in the world. Flickr/Crystian Cruz

The days of the controversial BCS Championship Bowl have finally come to an end, and the excitement that surrounds crowning the best college football team is higher than ever. The 2014 season will end with a four-team College Football Playoff, to crown a new national champion. This historic first year will make the much-anticipated Playoff games, your #7, a bucket list event which was dreamed about for years before it even existed. Flickr/Rhett Maxwell

For baseball fans, the only time more exciting than April's season opener is October, when the top teams in Major League Baseball compete for the Commissioner's Trophy in the World Series, coming in at #8. The "Fall Classic" pits the top teams in the American and National Leagues against each other in a best of seven series. Christian Petersen, Getty Images

Each April, the elite teams of the National Hockey League clash in ice hockey's biggest tournament, the Stanley Cup Finals, your #9. Things always get heated when the U.S. and Canada meet on the ice, and there's always some international action in the playoffs. While the Montreal Canadiens have won more than any other team, no Canada-based team has taken home the cup since 1993. Will this season end the reign of American hockey dominance? Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

There's nothing like March Madness, our last winner. The whole world gets swept up with creating brackets predicting which NCAA basketball teams will advance through several rounds of single-elimination play. From a field of 64, the best of the best make the Sweet Sixteen, then the Final Four. Warren Buffet's billion dollar offer really amped up the fever this year, and a big congrats to UConn for taking the title. Jamie Schwaberow, NCAA Photos

The remaining 10 sports events earned nominations, but didn't receive enough votes to earn a spot among the winners. Widely considered the most demanding race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is held in early summer on a hybrid street and road course track in Le Mans, France. This grueling event attracts auto manufacturers from around the world - from Toyota to Audi - who look to prove their technological and mechanical prowess in this timed endurance race first held in 1923. Flickr/David Villarreal Fernández

The most difficult sporting trophy to win ... the oldest trophy in international sport ... this is the America's Cup, or the "Auld Mug," as it's affectionately nicknamed. In the more than 150 years that this sailing race has taken place, only four nations have claimed the coveted trophy. Today, the competition attracts the best yacht crews and boat designers in the world. Getty Images

First held in 1929, the Monaco Grand Prix has since come under the sanctioning body of Formula One, arguably the most illustrious motor racing organization in the world. However, just like back then, the race is still held on the tight, twisting casino-lined streets of the Principality of Monaco. The race is held every year on the last Sunday of May and is the crown jewel of the Formula One schedule. Winning here is seen as just as important as winning the championship. Monaco Press Centre Photos

The most exciting games in the NBA come when the winners of the Eastern and Western Conferences meet for a best-of-seven fight to the finish known as the NBA Finals. Even though the event is between American teams, it enjoys broad international appeal, with the final games airing in 215 countries, in 47 different languages. Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Open Championship, or simply The Open, is the oldest of the four major professional golf tournaments and the only one to be staged outside of the U.S. Each July, golf's best fly across the pond to compete in a 72-hole stroke play tournament on one of nine classic links courses in Scotland or England. For golf fans, the holes where the action takes place are often just as bucket list-worthy as the event itself. Flickr/Gary Denham

Recent controversy aside, there's something epic about racing for days on end, covering more than 2,000 miles of often very hilly terrain, on a bicycle. That's exactly what elite athletes from around the world do to win cycling's most coveted title, the Tour de France. Millions of fans line the route, sometimes camping out days in advance, to catch a glimpse of the race leader whizzing by in the iconic yellow jersey. Razvan/iStock Editorial

When soccer's best players aren't representing their nations, they're likely playing in Europe with team hopes pinned on winning the UEFA Champions League, the sport's most sought-after club trophy. Each season, 32 teams get whittled down to just two, who meet head-to-head in what is often the most-watched annual sporting event in the world. Flickr/Guillaume Baviere

Since the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993 - called UFC 1 - the UFC has hosted some of the best mixed martial arts athletes in high-profile events around the globe. Considered the most important events in fighting, UFC pits top-ranked fighters against each other in eight weight divisions for men and two for women, and with more than 20 events per year, there are plenty of chances for fans to cross this one off the bucket list. Jared Wickerham, Getty Images

The London suburb of Wimbledon is where the All England Club hosts "The Championships," the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, on grass courts. Lucky spectators get to watch dreams come true for one man and one woman each June and July, during the tourney's two-week run. The traditions of Wimbledon - from athletes in white attire to attendees enjoying champagne and strawberries and cream - make it the classiest ticket in sports. Flickr/Katherine Shann

For sports fans and adrenaline junkies interested in what's happening on the cutting edge of extreme sports, it doesn't get much better than the X Games. This annual event - one with summer and winter installments, much like the Olympics - features BMX, mountain biking, Moto X, skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling among other sports, as well as a music festival, athlete autograph sessions and several other interactive elements. Vote for your favorite sporting event at 10best.com/awards/travel/ Flickr/Justin

The Indianapolis 500 roared past the checkered flag in first place, in our 10Best Readers' Choice award contest for 'Best Bucket List Sports Event.' After four weeks of voting on the hottest tickets in sports, fans bestowed the #1 title upon the iconic Memorial Day weekend race which is fast approaching. America loves its motorsports, and showed it, by throwing more votes to the legendary racetrack contest than to the Olympics, which came in second. Browse the complete list of winners in the carousel above.

While it's not clear if recency of experience played a hand in voting, The Masters (which just occurred in April) and last weekend's Kentucky Derby also landed in the top five spots. A ticket to the Masters is nearly impossible to obtain, adding to its allure, as does the unparalleled beauty of the Augusta National gold course.

Another ticket that's out of reach for most sports fans - one to a Super Bowl - remains a lofty but coveted possession for many of our readers. Sports tickets landing in the top 10 were mostly team sports, but three individual sports (golf, horse racing, motorsports) resonated strongly with voters. The Olympics - a bit of both - struck a chord with patriots as well as sports fans.

Congratulations to all the winners, and to anyone struggling for a gift idea for a sports fan: look no further. If you can swing entry to any of these events for the fan in your life, your generosity won't soon be forgotten, if ever.